A deserted shopping street in Rome. (File photo: AP)

RIYADH, March 26 (Xinhua) -- Leaders of the Group of 20 (G20) major economies on Thursday vowed to inject over 5 trillion U.S. dollars to boost the global economy as part of their joint efforts to mitigate the impact of the COVID-19 epidemic.

The leaders made the pledge in a joint statement released after Saudi Arabia convened an extraordinary summit by video-link to coordinate multilateral response to the pandemic.

"We are injecting over 5 trillion US dollars into the global economy, as part of targeted fiscal policy, economic measures, and guarantee schemes to counteract the social, economic and financial impacts of the pandemic," the statement said.

G20 leaders also committed to do "whatever it takes" and to use "all available policy tools" to minimize the economic and social damage from the pandemic, restore global growth, maintain market stability, and strengthen resilience, according to the statement.